Some of the many varieties of rice I helped to plant
I am learning to play the waiting game. It is now Wednesday and I have done very little work in the lab. My seeds are still growing; they need a few more days before I can extract the DNA and really get started. On Monday, I spent the morning selecting and germinating seeds. This means putting rice seeds into a clear container and soaking them in water. Tuesday I spent the entire morning and early afternoon reading 10 different research papers and several other articles to help me get more familiar with my project, and hybrid rice research in general. After that I really feel like I have a good grasp on the topic.
I cannot believe I have not mentioned it before! I am now going to give you all a brief summary of the scientific project I will be working on. This is of course just a rough idea. I will be working with a very valuable new breed of super hybrid rice. This plant variety produces more rice than any currently on the market, which is why it is worth a lot. I will be working with this rice to find its DNA fingerprint; which means I will be comparing it to its “family members” and other varieties using different primers to find the one that shows the most difference between the new varieties and other varieties. To make things simpler, I am just trying to show the uniqueness of this variety. Once am able to show the uniqueness, the variety can be easily identified which means that no one else can steal this variety and take credit for it. This is important because it is a very common problem in China; also it is useful in keeping the purity of the variety high.
I cannot believe I have not mentioned it before! I am now going to give you all a brief summary of the scientific project I will be working on. This is of course just a rough idea. I will be working with a very valuable new breed of super hybrid rice. This plant variety produces more rice than any currently on the market, which is why it is worth a lot. I will be working with this rice to find its DNA fingerprint; which means I will be comparing it to its “family members” and other varieties using different primers to find the one that shows the most difference between the new varieties and other varieties. To make things simpler, I am just trying to show the uniqueness of this variety. Once am able to show the uniqueness, the variety can be easily identified which means that no one else can steal this variety and take credit for it. This is important because it is a very common problem in China; also it is useful in keeping the purity of the variety high.
Besides the fact that my seedlings are not big enough, I am also waiting for some new primers to arrive. In China this can take weeks, which is a whole lot slower than at the University of Minnesota. Since I have not had too much to do in the lab I have had a lot of time to do as I please. Usually, I like to be outside, even though the past few days have been overcast, the amazing plants and architecture never get old. On Monday afternoon I decided to do my laundry, it was sunny and windy at the time, the perfect weather for drying clothes. There are no dryers here (or ovens), so I run my load and just as it is finishing, the sky turns grey. By the time I get around to hanging my clothes out it is drizzling, that is just my luck. My clothes are still not dry, good thing I still have plenty of clothes to wear in the mean time.
Today I got to hear a speech given my Professor Yuan (the Father of Hybrid Rice); he talked about the improvements hybrid rice has brought about around the world. He also spoke of his life mission, which is simply to help feed the world through the continual improvement of hybrid rice through breeding and other methods. I feel so blessed to have met amazing people such as Norman Borlaug and Yuan Long Ping in my young life, they are so hugely inspirational. I will always look up to them, and try to follow their example as I go about choosing my future career. They are brilliant; they worked very hard, and are passionate about helping others. Though their success is huge, they never became corrupted or selfish because of their fame. The world would be a much better place if more people lived like they do.
Today I got to hear a speech given my Professor Yuan (the Father of Hybrid Rice); he talked about the improvements hybrid rice has brought about around the world. He also spoke of his life mission, which is simply to help feed the world through the continual improvement of hybrid rice through breeding and other methods. I feel so blessed to have met amazing people such as Norman Borlaug and Yuan Long Ping in my young life, they are so hugely inspirational. I will always look up to them, and try to follow their example as I go about choosing my future career. They are brilliant; they worked very hard, and are passionate about helping others. Though their success is huge, they never became corrupted or selfish because of their fame. The world would be a much better place if more people lived like they do.
Today I got a small taste of what a rural rice farmer in China does. I spent the morning planting different varieties of seedlings in groups of 100. Rice is grown in about 2 feet of muck. I started out wearing boots but within the first 5 minutes my boots were so stuck in the muck I could not move a single inch. So I ditched the boots and went bare-foot which was not so bad after all, and I could move more freely. The seedlings were surprisingly easy to plant, though it really was back breaking work bending and reaching to slide them into the loose muck. I really enjoyed the experience, afterward I was covered in muck but I felt like I accomplished something. That I helped in a small way, which is a very good feeling; even though I think the feeling is even better now that I had the chance to shower off!
This weekend has just flown by. I spent all day Saturday walking and riding around Changsha, which is the capitol of Hunan province and only a 20 minute drive from the center. It takes about an hour by bus; still it is very worth it because it costs only 2 yuan (1 dollar= 6.8 yuan). The bus system here is very convenient and very cheap. However, they can be quite dangerous at times. I was standing the front of a crowded bus and in just one trip we ran two red lights, cut off at least 15 motorcycles and vehicles, went over 80 mph, and almost hit a pedestrian. Needless to say my mom would have had a heart attack.
When Jane (a friend from the center) and I arrived in Changsha we went to a huge underground shopping mall. This mall is much different than those in the USA; it is composed of thousands of tiny little booths that are run by one or two people each. Most of the booths sell very similar things. For example if there are 60 shoe stores, 90% of them will hold pretty much exactly the same shoes, with little variation type or in price. It is the same story with the clothes. Even though bartering is encouraged, it is an art form; one that I am terrible at. From 3 till 7 Jane and I sang karaoke with two of her friends. It was a great time, I learned a lot about popular Chinese music which is quite lovely actually. It was a great place with a whole lot more English music which I really appreciated! Afterwards we went out to eat at one of the girls favorite restaurants; it was a traditional Korean place. On each table was a grate that the waiters put hot coals under. We picked from a large variety of meats, and they brought it raw to the table. We grilled the meat ourselves rights on the table, it was really tasty!
When Jane (a friend from the center) and I arrived in Changsha we went to a huge underground shopping mall. This mall is much different than those in the USA; it is composed of thousands of tiny little booths that are run by one or two people each. Most of the booths sell very similar things. For example if there are 60 shoe stores, 90% of them will hold pretty much exactly the same shoes, with little variation type or in price. It is the same story with the clothes. Even though bartering is encouraged, it is an art form; one that I am terrible at. From 3 till 7 Jane and I sang karaoke with two of her friends. It was a great time, I learned a lot about popular Chinese music which is quite lovely actually. It was a great place with a whole lot more English music which I really appreciated! Afterwards we went out to eat at one of the girls favorite restaurants; it was a traditional Korean place. On each table was a grate that the waiters put hot coals under. We picked from a large variety of meats, and they brought it raw to the table. We grilled the meat ourselves rights on the table, it was really tasty!
This morning I went wax berry picking. Lan and her family, two university student and I all drove the 45 minutes to a small farm. The only animals there were chicken that roam freely and ducks, but there were more fruit trees than I had ever seen on such a small plot. On this one plot of land there were over 100 wax berry trees; plums and nectarines; all of which were in season. Picking the wax berries was a blast. Afterward we went on a short hike, where I got a good view of the country side. We returned at about noon, just in time for lunch. Even though I was already feeling pretty full from all the fruit! Later on I was invited to get a massage once again, it felt great! I feel truly prepared for the week ahead.
